The St Laurence Church schools were founded in 1714. Over the years the schools have expanded to their present three forms of entry, giving a school roll of 270 in the Infant School and 360 in the Junior School. The Junior School moved to its present spacious site in 1964 and the Infant School in 1972. The schools are Voluntary Aided and have a close relationship with the lovely old St Laurence Church. They have a strong sense of Christian purpose, which is reflected in relationships, worship, and general school ethos.
Our Aims:
- We aim to provide a broad and balanced curriculum which develops each child spiritually, morally, intellectually, socially, and physically within a Christian environment.
- We aim to see each child as an individual, made in the image of God, and to address individual needs to help explore talents and fulfill potential.
- We aim to develop a partnership between home and school and involve parents as actively as possible in the education and welfare of their children.
- We intend this education to take place in a secure and happy environment, one which will provide the children with the self-esteem and skills necessary for them to take their place successfully as confident, responsible, tolerant, and caring members of society.
At St Laurence Church Infant School we set out to work with our families to help our children become thoughtful, caring, and responsible members of society who treat others with respect and tolerance, regardless of background. We promote the basic British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance for those with different faiths and beliefs.
Our whole school ethos is built around mutual respect. We are an inclusive school where everyone is valued and has a contribution to make to the school. Children learn that their behaviors affect their rights and those of others. Children are encouraged to respect each other throughout the day and they see this attitude modeled by the adults in the school.
As a Church of England school, the Christian faith and its values are an integral part of the children’s day-to-day experiences. Children are taught an understanding of different faiths and beliefs through the RE curriculum. Children within our school with different faiths are encouraged to share their practices and special celebrations. Our curriculum includes learning about a range of cultures to raise children’s awareness of different faiths, beliefs, and ways of life.
The curriculum comprises all learning and other experiences that the school plans for the children. It provides opportunities for all children to learn and to achieve and promotes children's spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development. We hope that all of our children will find the curriculum and their school experience interesting and enjoyable and that they will develop a love of learning that will stay with them throughout their education and into adult life.
Our values are firmly rooted in the Christian faith and belief. We value all of our children, whatever their background or ability. We expect them to show compassion, consideration, and respect for others in the hope that they will develop into caring and responsible citizens. We encourage truth, honesty, fairness, loyalty, and perseverance.
Personal faith and belief is a very individual matter and cannot be taught. However, we do aim to give children a sound understanding of what it is to be a Christian and provide opportunities from which belief and faith may stem. We also provide the opportunity to study other faiths and how those faith communities conduct their religious and spiritual lives.
We know that children will enter our school with differing levels of academic, physical, and social development. We aim to cater to different needs, and for each child to achieve success and make progress. That success will be valued whatever the level of achievement.
